The 16 types of feelings and their psychological function

Human beings experience a multitude of feelings almost without realizing it: I feel happy, bored or confident are some examples. The term feeling can be confused with emotion, and although these are related, they are not exactly the same.

In this article we will talk about what feelings are and how we can recognize them.

• Related article: "103 phrases of feelings and emotions (of love and passion)"

Difference between emotions and feelings

Some of you may have wondered what difference an emotion from a feeling. Well, to understand this difference we can extract a fragment of the book "The error of Descartes" scored by Antonio Damasio. The author is a researcher who has attached great importance to emotions and feelings in social behavior and even in reasoning.

For Damasio: “When you experience an emotion, for example the emotion of fear, there is a stimulus that has the ability to trigger an automatic reaction. And this reaction, of course, starts in the brain, but then it is reflected in the body, either in the real body or in our internal simulation of the body. And then we have the possibility to project that specific reaction with various ideas that are related to those reactions and to the object that caused the reaction. When we perceive all this is when we have a feeling. "

So feelings are the way we relate to that emotional side of our mind, the narratives that we establish about it and the way in which we respond to these experiential situations.

Theoretically, then, feelings and emotions are differentiated from each other by the different relationships that both have with consciousness and with psychological processes superiors: feelings come from abstract ideas and consciously directed thinking, while emotions are not.

• Related article: "Differences between emotions and feelings"

An example about emotions and feelings

In short, emotion would be the first reaction we experience to a stimulus and it has to do with the limbic system. And the feeling would be the result of an emotion, and has its origin in the neocortex, specifically in the frontal lobe. The response to a feeling can be physical and / or mental, and is mediated by neurotransmitters such as dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin. In addition, feelings last longer than emotion, since their duration is proportional to the time we think about them.

In our daily life, feelings manifest themselves all the time, for example: We are at work, our boss approaches and tells us to accompany him to the office. There, he tells us that the management does not like our work and they fire us. Almost constantly fear takes hold of us, what would be the emotion.

Right after, we analyze the situation and ask ourselves a series of questions: “Why me? What have I done wrong? " and we begin to experience sadness and pity for having to leave the job, anger, inferiority, uncertainty about the future, etc. This second reaction, modified by our conscious thoughts, would be a feeling.

• Related article: "10 surprising psychological facts about feelings and emotions"

The components of emotion

It should be said, but, that the debate between feeling and emotion comes from afar and has been a controversial issue, since they are terms that are often confused and used interchangeably. One of the first authors to talk about emotions and feelings was Richard S. Lazarus, what do I say that these two concepts are interrelated. The feeling would be part of the emotion, since it is its subjective component, that is, cognitive.

The emotions, which originate in the limbic system of the brain, are complex states in which different components intervene:

• Physiological: They are involuntary processes, the first reaction: increases muscle tone, respiration, hormonal changes occur ...
• Cognitive: Information is processed, both consciously and unconsciously, influencing our subjective experience.
• Behavioral: Body movements, tone of voice, face ...

For Carlson and Hatfield. Feeling is the subjective experience of emotion. That is, the feeling would be the combination of instinctive and brief emotion, together with the thought that we obtain in a rational way from that emotion.

16 feelings we experience

There are many feelings that human beings experience. Here is a list of 16 very frequent feelings:

Positive feelings

These feelings lead to more positive behavior:

1. Euphoria: This feeling makes us feel high and our perception of life is magnificent.

2. Admiration: when we contemplate something or someone in a positive way.

3. Affected: It is a pleasant sensation to connect with someone.

4. Optimism: We perceive life in a positive way and without fear of facing it.

5. Gratitude: We are grateful for someone.

6. Satisfaction: A feeling of well-being for something that has happened.

7. Love: A complex feeling that expresses the best of ourselves.

8. Liking: Something gives us pleasure.

Negative feelings

They are feelings that we experience in an unpleasant way:

9. Anger: It is a feeling of dislike or bad disposition towards someone or something

10. Hate: A strong feeling of repulsion towards a person

11. Sadness: A negative state that causes discomfort with a tendency to cry

12. Indignation: Being upset at something that is considered unfair

13. Impatience: Feeling of needing something now.

14. Envy: Feeling that occurs when you want something that you do not have and that someone else has.

15. Revenge: You want revenge, but you don't necessarily have to carry it out.

16. Jealousy: feeling that arises when you think you are going to lose someone you love.

The importance of managing feelings for emotional health

One of the most important topics in psychology today is emotional intelligence. Although it is often talked about emotions, it actually refers to feelings. The correct management of feelings, that is, for example, self-knowledge or regulation contribute many benefits for people both in their mental well-being and in their performance whether at work, education or sports.

• If you want to know the benefits of this practice, you can consult our post: "The 10 benefits of emotional intelligence"